A woman beat up her 71-year-old husband after he pushed her down the stairs, breaking her jaw, in a fight over him taking a second wife, a Dubai court heard on Tuesday.
Police were called about an Emirati family fighting in Al Safa 2 on October 5 last year.
The woman, 44, told officers that she was at the villa’s entrance when her husband and his son from a previous marriage attacked her.
“He twisted my arm and his son twisted the other then they pushed me down the stairs,” said the wife, adding that she then acted in self-defence. Both men insulted her using inappropriate language, she said.
The wife said issues had arisen because he wants to take a second wife and force her into asking for a divorce and leaving the villa.
“They assaulted me in front of my 13-year-old son,” said the woman, who denied accusations that she attacked them with a kitchen knife, saying that she was just in possession of it as she had been in the kitchen using it.
“He started the troubles two weeks before this incident and I have messages from him to prove it,” the wife said. “He sent me several messages threatening me and pushing me to file for divorce and leave him at the villa.”
However, the husband told police that he and his son responded to the sound of something being thrown at their villa door.
“When we got out, we found my wife throwing stones at the villa’s door, yelling about our cars blocking hers,” he said.
She was holding a knife, he said, and when they tried to take it away from her, she beat him and slapped him. “She also hit my 32-year-old son,” said the husband, who got the son to call police.
“It was about 6.30pm when I saw her outside trying to damage the surveillance camera. Minutes later, my father and I found her throwing the stones and waving a knife at us,” said the son.
“While we were outside, she headed to her car and we saw as the car started shaking violently - she was doing something to herself.”
The son said he thought she was hurting herself so she could frame him and his father.
The father and son also said that the woman’s two brothers arrived during the fight and threatened them.
After the fight at the entrance to the villa, the son said his stepmother came inside and attacked him, pulling him by the hair and dragging him on the floor.
A medical report said the woman suffered from a broken jaw, while her husband and his son suffered bruises.
The woman was charged with assaulting the safety of her 71-year-old husband and insulting his son, while one of her brothers, who has not been tracked down by police, is charged with issuing threats.
None of them were present at Dubai Family Court to face charges.
The next hearing will be on August 15.